Jumanji: Reborn
by Hewy Toonmore
Summary: A sequel/reboot of the original movie, a young man's move into a new town becomes a nightmare when he and his new friends uncover a mysterious board game that unleashes severe consequences with a roll of the dice. Please Read and Review.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This story is a collaborated effort between my friends, Wrestlemaniac829, Princess Heather Blossom, BronyDan, Zion Kraze, and I.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Jumanji nor any of the characters related to it. They belong to author Chris Van Allsburg and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Enjoy. :)**

On an open road, alongside the number of cars passing through, a seventeen foot U-Haul truck passed a road sign that read 'Fleming Welcomes You. Population: 35000". On the side of this truck, it read '#83 Venture Across America Michigan, 37 Acre "Humongous Fungus"'. Along the picture were four giant mushrooms in a forest, its roots buried deep in the ground.

As the moving van made its way through Fleming, a quiet little town where every neighbor knew each other, it was not alone as two other vehicles led the way. At the very front was a silver 2011 Highlander Toyota, slightly aged yet still in working order. In between the two vehicles was a more modern, cherry red mid-size 2004 Camaro Their arrival drew the attention of several townspeople, who could tell from a glance that some new homeowners were coming. One even waved hello to their new neighbors, the only response came from the passenger in the Highlander. A feminine hand by the look of it.

Inside the Camaro, a young man two years shy of twenty casually drove along the road with white ear plugs in his ears connected to his cell phone in the cup holder. He was a clean shaven young man and with the driver side window down, his short bushy brown hair blew along the wind. He wore a dark gray hooded jacket over a tan brown T-Shirt and blue jeans, his one foot with the sketchers sneaker pressed on the pedal. With the sun gleaming off the front mirror, he wore sunglasses to keep the sun from piercing his eyes. The sun gleams along his muttonchops, and along his black pub cap sitting on the passenger seat. His name was Johnny Roscoe, a young man moving toward this small Georgia town with his mother, one he barely heard of because it was just inches from the Florida line. And he had to settle with the old hand-me down car, even though the radio and air conditioning were broken hence why he had the phone and headphones.

As the three vehicles continued down the road, through the town and past a giant mall a few miles away, they turned toward a cul-de-sac neighborhood. Most of the houses had the classic touch, the white picket fences that matched the walls of the house, red-bricked roofs, rusty mail boxes, and wide backyards. They pulled into the last house on the right, the two vehicles in the driveway and the moving van parked along the street. As Johnny put the car in gear and shut down the ignition, he removed his sunglasses and placed them inside the glove compartment. He took his cap, placed it on his head and put his cell phone in his jacket pocket, the music continuing to play in his ears. He stepped out of his car, allowing his dark brown eyes to take in the scenery.

"You sure this is the right house?" John called out to the Toyota.

His mother stepped out of the Highlander. Judging by appearances, she appeared to be in her mid-fifties. She wore a button flannel shirt and blue jeans, and laceless shoes. Her brown eyes turns to her son while her dirty blonde hair flows gently along the wind.

"Yep! This is it!" She replied, cheerfully. "This is where I grew up when I was your age; now it's ours again."

"That's great, mom."

"You'll learn to love it," She replied. "Now come on, help me unpack."

"You better be right," John said to himself as went over to help unpack the moving truck.

* * *

For the next few hours, Johnny and his mother gathered their belongings in the van while the movers handled the heavier loads, mostly setting the furniture in all the empty rooms in the house. The movers had just positioned a couch into the empty living room, as Johnny came in with a thin briefcase. As soon as the movers left, he sat comfortably on the couch and unzipped the bag. Inside was a Surface Pro computer which turned on after he lifted the screen.

He plugged his headphones into the laptop, mostly to drown out everything else happening around him. He clicked a few keys and enters a link leading him to the site of a community college in Fleming. He casually searched the site and filled in some information, as a news ad aired on a television already set on the counter. Yet Johnny was so busy on the computer, he didn't notice.

"In other news," A news anchor began. "Mysterious circumstances led to the crash of a cargo plane over the Atlantic ocean, just a hundred miles outside the United States. The plane was on its scheduled overseas flight from Paris, when it unfortunately entered an incoming storm and was struck by lightning. Weather teams have chosen not to comment on the event, but rumor from a source says the storm emerged from under it's radar. No word yet on any survivors, and all local airfields around the area have been given a word of caution…"

"So," said Johnny's mother, "applying to the community college?"

Johnny looked up and saw his mother approach. He removed one of the ear plugs as he responded to her question.

"Yeah. I just thought I'd get to know the place before applying. It's different."

"I still can't believe it, my son is now a college man!"

"It's just community college mom," Johnny replied, rolling his eyes.

"Not just 'a' community college," His mom pointed out. "This is the very same school your father went to, when he was your age. I think he'd be very proud that you're attending. And believe me, every other college we could apply to was beyond our price range."

"I know mom and I do appreciate it, really," Johnny answered, assuredly. "As long as I can get through my studies, find a job, and get my degree in Arts, we'll have all we need."

"You know tackling a job in the arts is not going to be easy."

"And you know I had a tough time in science, so getting a degree in Biology was out of the question."

"Okay, okay, Mr. Smart-aleck. I get it. Just as long as you remember I didn't insist you apply just for your studies. I really hope you take the time to make a few friends while we're here."

"I'll try, mom."

"And don't wait till 'after' to get a job. There are plenty of part time jobs in Fleming to consider."

"If I find a job that suits me, I'll take what they offer."

"I know you will. Now come on out and help me unpack. I want to get some stuff upstairs for your new room and I could use a hand."

* * *

Plopping the box on top of the bed, Johnny tore the tape off the lid and proceeded to remove his stuff. Most of it was just some junk he kept from his old home, but he still brought along for the move. But there were a few things inside the box that he definitely wanted to bring. Among them was a photo of his father. He was dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans, he was also working the soul patch look. There he was crouching besides Johnny, who was seven years old at the time. They were going fishing that day and Johnny held a fish that he caught that afternoon, the proudest moments of his life. But then a month after that, his father got sick and had to go to the hospital. And when they heard the news... Well, Johnny never liked to think about it.

With a heavy sigh, Johnny placed the photo by the lamp, facing it so in a way he could see his father. He laid on top of the bed, not even bothering to change out of his clothes and decided to just close his eyes and sleep this off. It was quiet at first, when he heard a faint noise.

Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump.

Johnny opened an eye for a moment and he could've sworn he heard… Drums. Like the type he heard on those jungle safari documentary videos. But they were really, really faint. For all he knew he was probably just imagining it. So he closed his eye and went back to sleep, knowing these next days were going to be very busy.


	2. Chapter 2

A few days had passed since the move and Johnny slowly began to adjust to his new surroundings. On a fine Thursday morning, Johnny pulled up into the garage parking lot shifting the gears in the car. With the ignition off, Johnny stepped out from his car and pulled out his backpack before locking the car. He was fortunate this day to park on the first level of the garage, so he could walk straight to the campus which fortunately for him was right across from the garage. Sure as the site described, the college in general was big, for a community college.

* * *

Within a few minutes prior to his arrival, Johnny made his way into class joining up with all the students. There were a few his own age, others slightly older than him, all of them different. Course Johnny hardly paid much attention: Not what they chose to wear or that they were texting on their phones or talking about gosh knows what's the latest trend. He treated today much the same as the last: He'd come into class, put his backpack near his desk, take a seat in his chair, and get all the materials for the class before the teacher proceeds to hand out the assignments. The teacher in this class had a shaven head look with the circular glasses, a buttoned shirt with an aquamarine vest, and light tan slacks with black shoes that matched his belt. This particular teacher was Mr. Kaplan, the English teacher.

"Class," said Mr. Kaplan, "please turn your books over to page 20. Chapter Two. No talking, no cell phones…" He then pointed to a student. "I mean it this time. Proceed."

It didn't take long for Johnny to open up his textbook and proceed with his studies. Next to him was a fellow student that he did know rather well. He was an orange bearded young man with an open Hawaiian shirt that was over a plain black T-shirt with jean shorts and green sneakers. His name was Luke Hellwig, who was just putting his cell phone away when Mr. Kaplan pointed him out.

"He's a real Mister Sunshine, isn't he?" he whispered to Johnny.

"He's not so bad," Johnny whispered back, shrugging his shoulders.

"Eh, the bloke honestly just has it in for me I'm telling you. Kinda reminds me of a neighbor I had back home."

"I've had worse."

"Mr. Hellwig," Mr. Kaplan called out, approaching his desk. "Do you have something important you need to share with the class?"

"On the contrary, Mr. Kaplan," Luke replied, attempting to keep it calm. "I was merely referencing you to a rather prestigious gent I recall back in my home town. You'd like him. Pretty nice guy, very passionate about the arts..."

"Yes, I love that story, Mr. Hellwig," Mr. Kaplan spoke, with a hint of sarcasm. "Perhaps you can tell me more about it after class, I can't wait to see how that ends."

"Crap, not again."

"Tough luck, man," Johnny whispered to Luke.

"Don't sweat it, I had nothing better to do," Luke replied, carelessly. "See you at lunch?"

"Sure."

With that done, Johnny turned back to his book with a shake of his head. He had only known Luke for a short time since the day they met when the seminar began, but he knew enough about him. While he seemed like the laid back, carefree type of person he was smarter than he acted if anything the one major drawback was allowing his big mouth to put him in trouble. But even so, he was generally a good person to get along with and possibly the closest person he would call a friend. Course, with Johnny being focused on his goals to get through the school year and so caught up with getting things done, compared to his classmate Johnny wasn't much of a social type. And Luke alone was the one person who noticed, as an eye glanced at the student sitting beside him.

* * *

Sometime afterwards, all of the other students were strolling through the grounds of the campus. Some with scheduled classes in the next hour were well on their way. While for those with classes that won't start for quite some time, took the time to either head to Study Hall to catch up with their notes or hang by the yard for some casual time with their friends while an even number of said students took the chance to drive into town to pick up food or supplies for their projects. In the meanwhile, as they passed by a gathering of students sitting under a tree, Luke and Johnny decided to take a stroll what with their next class not starting at least until one hour after noon.

"So, Johnny," said Luke, "still adjusting to life in Fleming, are we?"

"It's different, I'll admit," Johnny replied. "Big city kid decides to move to a small town, where his mother happened to be born from and placed in a school his father went to. Like you've never heard that story before."

"Oh sure," Luke answered. "I've been on this campus for at least two years, gave me a chance to know almost everybody. Different stories, where they've come from, what they want to do. The usuals and the not-so-much."

"What's your story?"

"Nothing much. I live on my own at the other side of down, paying rent for the superintendent, while my parents are still in the UK. But most of the time, I hang out around town trying to find things to do. Then again, Fleming's just one of those towns where the most fun to do is go to the shopping mall… Or at least it 'would' be, but circumstances tell otherwise."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the old Regal Mall's been abandoned for almost fifteen years now. We have a new one, but not so big as the Regal was. I mean picture it: It was big, I mean REALLY big. People used to come from miles past the state border and beyond to come see it. There was a wide variety of shops, the biggest food court, a movie theater, arcade, book stores, furniture, you name it they had it. But sad to say, socio-economic disparities got involved, businesses began to close, and several workers were laid off until eventually... They were forced to close down. Everything's gone and yet it still stands."

"My mom did tell me about that prior to the move," Johnny admitted. "Still bites to hear about it."

"Sometimes, I go there to explore the place," Luke continued. "To imagine what it was like in it's hay day. To explore every square corner and time how long it takes to go from one side to the next. Course, it won't be there for long what with it being due to be demolished so a 'parking garage' will take it's place. So like life, one should treat each day like the last."

"But why now, after fifteen years, are they deciding to demolish it?"

"Who knows anything?" Luke shrugged. "Shit happens, but then that's life."

"Amen to that," Johnny replied.

"I will say this. The great thing about my schedule this year is that I don't have any classes on the weekend, especially Fridays. Got big plans this weekend, a little get-together with my pals. What about you?"

"Not really. Probably just gonna help mom around the house, doing my chores, catching up on my homework, and stuff."

"Now, hold up. You aren't telling me you're one of those 'stay at home' type of lads, are ya? Like you haven't spoken to any other students in this school besides me."

"Sorry, I had a lot of studying to catch up on," Johnny shrugged.

"You've only been here for, what, three or four days," Luke counted. "I've been at this campus for two years and this I know: There's a time to work, but there's also a time to be social. You have a whole life ahead of you."

"You thinking of inviting me?"

"Hey, let's not get too personal, I'm not the type," Luke joked. "But sure, it's going to be one heck of a party and all my friends will be there. Maybe I might even get you to have a talk with that one girl you were eyeing on in Geography. You know, Heather?"

"She's all right, Luke," Johnny insisted. "But honestly... She scares me."

"How do you know?" Luke asked. "You only know her as much as every other student on this campus... Nothing."

Johnny just simply eyed Luke with an eyebrow raised, as if Luke was only telling him things that he already knew. But Luke went ahead.

"But you are right about one thing," Luke continued. "Heather can be a little scary, believe me I know how she can be. Still, get to know her as long as I did, she's actually a pretty fun lass. She just gets a little..."

"Crazy?"

"Spontaneous."

"Whatever you say, dude," Johnny sighed.

"So, are we settled then?" Luke asks. "Party at my house, tomorrow?"

Johnny paused for a moment before asking, "What time should I come?"

"Two o'clock sharp. There'll be some pizza, games, and plenty to drink. But you might want to bring snacks."

"Mind if I bring over Doritos?"

"Bring the whole lot if absolutely necessary. My friends can eat."

Johnny smiled. "Alright, it's a date then. And no, I don't mean THAT kind of date!"

"No way, dude," Luke chuckled. "That'd just make you look loonier than Margaret Thatcher."

Johnny smirked and said, "Okay then, see you tomorrow."

Luke gave a silent salute before going on ahead leaving Johnny walking by himself. On the off chance, Johnny was never one to go to parties. In all the time spent on campus, apart from Luke, Johnny didn't make a lot of friends. Usually coming off as the type that hangs out at the library to do homework and when he did sit with some students at lunch, he mostly just sat and listened then would leave when lunch hour was up. But then he was given a reminder of why their mother made the choice to move here. Their previous home, Johnny didn't make a lot of friends either and she felt that coming to this town would be a way to start over. So who knows, perhaps this party would do him some good at least if it would get his mother off his back.

* * *

After he went he through his classes, it was that time for Johnny to leave. On this particular day, Johnny decided to take a shortcut home on an off-road path along the beach. Not one to rush home after school, Johnny took the chance to learn all the routes around Fleming and a few shortcuts to get onto his street. But mostly he sought those roads trying to find some excitement in Fleming, for a brief moment find a little adventure in his life. As he drove, a familiar sound pulsed against his ears.

Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump.

Johnny recognized the all too familiar drum beats, it was a loud beating and his radio didn't even work. He slowed the car down, turning to the side where the tide was crashing against the sandy shore. He pulled up to a stop on the sand, turning off the ignition and slowly stepping out of his car while the drums continued to beat. He looked around the beach, but there were no other cars or any beach goers despite how close the drums were pounding. It was starting to creep him out, as if he walked onto the set of a thriller horror movie like he'd see on TV.

All at once, just as Johnny turned back to his car his eyes caught a glimpse of something floating in the water. It bobbed up and down against the waves on the sea, a large crate. And the drumming noises were coming that very box. Johnny made his way toward the beach, walking through the water as the cold sea splashed against his jeans. Still he kept going until the crate was in reach and so he could get a glimpse of the faded black words on its side.

 ** _Forfait de livraison de Paris , France_**

Though Johnny could barely understand French, he recognized the words Paris and France. Something about it sounded familiar, but his curiosity over the contents inside the crate prevented him from thinking further. He dragged the crate until it touched the sand, a few inches out of the water and it's weight prevented it from going any further. Not willing to stop after that, Johnny made for the car, using his keys to unlock the trunk. Opening it, he searched through the items that were in there: A spare tire, an old blanket, and a few other contents. But what he was looking for he had to reach toward the very back until his grip clutched something hard, long and metal.

Johnny pulled his arm out and held it out so he can have a good look at what he needed. A crowbar, still in good use and a few tools he'd carry in case of an emergency. But for this case, Johnny had to know what was in that crate because the thumping of the drums would not stop otherwise.

Placing the flat end underneath one of the wooden boards, and with a few tries, Johnny managed to pry it off with the crowbar. After prying off a second board, he was able to reach in and see what was inside the crate.

When he finally got a grip on what was inside, the drumming suddenly stopped. His hands managed to clutch on something hard and thick, buried deep in some hay he had to dig his arms through to get it. With all his might, he pulled the object out from the crate and his eyes studied the item. It was a large wooden board of sorts with the word 'Jumanji' engraved at the center over an arrow. In each corner were four different pictures: A monkey, an elephant, a rhinoceros, and a human.

Johnny was confused for a moment. Was THIS piece of wood what was making the drumming sounds he had been hearing? How could it of been possible? Was it electronic, perhaps?

"Where were you going?" Johnny asked to himself.

Whatever the case, Johnny had no idea who this belonged to or if anyone would come looking for it. But he turned to the sun in the sky then checked the time on his phone. No doubt about it, the hour was getting late and he didn't have time to figure out the details of what was going on. So rather than leave the box on the beach, he plopped it inside the trunk sliding it alongside the spare tire before closing it. Getting back in the car and turning on the engine, he drove off toward his home as quick as possible before his mom would worry. All that was left was the crate with the French words sitting on the sand, as if it were fate that the boy would find it… Or was it?


	3. Chapter 3

Pulling into the driveway, Johnny shut off the ignition before stepping out of the car. The game was tucked under his right arm as he approached the front door of his house. As Johnny entered his house, his footsteps echoing through the halls were enough for him to know he was alone. Then again, it would explain why his mother's car wasn't in the driveway, no doubt she was still at her job somewhere in town. Since his mom wouldn't be back for a while, Johnny would take this opportunity to enjoy some peace and quiet and catch up on his school work. Except the game he found made him curious, which was a good thing his mom wasn't around.

"What is your deal?" he said to himself.

Stepping into his bedroom, Johnny laid the game carefully onto the bed. With his hands on the lid, it opened with a click and it flipped over on one side and he noticed that it was actually two separate lids. Lifting the other one, the inside of the game was fully unveiled. In the center seemed like a regular set-up for a board game. Four pathways that appeared to be tiles, twisting around before meeting toward the center where a black orb sat. As his fingers traced along it, he noted that it felt as smooth as marble and yet when he pounded it the material actually felt stronger.

As he examined the board, he turned toward the left side where a little compartment caught his eyes. He flicked it open with one finger and sees some tiny figures inside. He clutched the tiny objects and laid them in the palm of his hand. They appeared to be the game's tokens, shaped as animals that would inhabit Africa, and they appeared to be looking at him as they laid there in the palm of his hand. All together, they were a charcoal gray elephant, a dark-green monkey, a black crocodile, and a white rhino.

Then his eyes turned to some bold red and black letters written on that one end of the game. From the looks of the writing, it appeared to be the game's rules.

"Jumanji," Johnny read. "A game for those who seek to find a way to leave their world behind."

Johnny paused after reading the first part, looking back at the tokens then towards the game.

"Cool."

"Johnny!" A voiced called out.

Hearing the voice, Johnny turned, dropping the tokens from his hand and onto the board. Before Johnny could see what happened, he quickly shut the game's lid, took it in his arm, and hid it under the bed as soon as he heard footsteps making their way to his room. He quickly turned around just as his mother appeared.

"Hi mom," Johnny spoke, casually.

"So, how was school?" his mom asked.

"Well… You know. Getting through my classes, doing homework, exploring the campus… More homework."

"Well, that's college, for ya."

"Oh, and, uh... That one guy, Luke, invited me to a party tomorrow."

"Shut up!" His mom exclaimed, excitedly. "Can this be true? My son has been invited to a party!"

"Okay, mom, no need for the dramatics. It's not really that big a deal. Though I did promise I'd bring Doritos."

"Well this is perfect! A party would be a perfect way for you to meet people, mingle, and share some laughs. You should be happy, a young man your age would give anything to be invited to these events."

"I am happy, mom," Johnny assured. "But let's be real about this. There might not even be many people at the party."

"True. But a handful of kids is better than none. Who knows? Maybe you'll meet someone. Why when I was your age, I met your father at a party."

"Mom, I think it's a little soon for me to 'meet anyone'"

"Well all right, Mr. Macho," His mom replied, nudging his shoulder. "Just promise me you won't bring your work tomorrow night. The point of having a party is to have 'fun'."

Johnny sighed. "I won't."

"That's a good boy," Johnny's mom nodded approvingly. "Special dinner tonight! Just think, after tomorrow night, maybe that'll get you to start hosting your own parties."

"Thanks mom," Johnny replied, rolling his eyes. "That really means a lot to me."

Johnny looked over until he saw his mom disappear down the stairs and paused for a few moments. Once she was out of sight, Johnny collapsed back first onto his bed with a sigh.

After a few seconds of looking at the ceiling, Johnny suddenly remembered the game and peered below the bed. Bending on his knees, he pulled out the game and examined it silently. He was thankful his mother had not seen it; he wouldn't know she would react. Still, something about this game drew Johnny's interest wondering who it belonged to and to whom it was going to. But then a more appropriate matter came to mind.

"Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to bring something extra to the party," Johnny spoke to himself, quietly. "Can't go wrong with bringing a game to a party. You're fun, right?"

Johnny paused after that question, his eyes never leaving the game as if he expected a reaction. He shook his head as he lifted the game, opening his closet and stuck it in a corner.

"Listen to me, talking to a board game."

Johnny turned his back to the closet and proceeded to his desk. While his mom would be downstairs cooking, that left him some time to get back in his school work. And in the closet, the Jumanji board game sat in the corner hidden in the dark. And in that place it stood, as if one would expect it to do anything. And yet, it held a foreboding presence and what little Johnny knew about it was just how special this game appeared more than he could possibly imagine.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon by the time Johnny arrived at Luke's house. Exiting the car, a bag of Doritos in one arm and the game in the other, Johnny strolled towards the house. He knocked on the door and as it opened, the sound of 'Uptown Funk' bounced along the walls as Luke appeared to greet him.

"Hiya," Luke said.

"Hey, Luke," Johnny replied. "Sorry I'm late. Kinda lost track of time."

"No sweat, I'm glad you finally made it. Come on in, the rest of the guests are waiting for ya."

As Johnny entered, he saw all of Luke's friends enjoying the party. Of course, by 'all' it was mostly Luke and two of his classmates. There the two were, sitting on the living room couch, eating pizza, and listening to that song. As Luke took the bag of chips, Johnny placed the box on a bench and followed Luke to the living room.

The one guy sitting on the couch, eating a slice of pizza was a rather pale young man. He had bushy black hair under a blue trilby hat that matched his buttoned shirt with a black vest over it. The remainder of his wardrobe was a pair of jeans with black sneakers. The girl next to him, simply chilling out, had her hair tied to a ponytail, her circular rimmed glasses slanted on her nose, and there she sat decked casually in a black T-Shirt and blue jeans. These were Dan and Heather, two of Luke's close friends.

"Guys, Johnny's here," Luke said to them. He then turned to Johnny. "Johnny, you know Heather. Next to her is my friend, Dan Spencer. He's from England, too."

"Well actually that's a bit of understatement," Dan replied. "I live in Southern Wales, but it's close enough."

"Hmm, two Brits in the same American school," said Johnny, "What are the odds?"

"So, Johnny," Heather spoke up. "You actually showed up to the party."

"Yup," Johnny replied, holding up the bag of Doritos. "And I brought Doritos, spicy sweet chili flavored."

"Well Dan, looks like you lost the bet on the Doritos," Heather replied with a smirk.

"Ah, crap." was all Dan could say.

"So, everyone enjoying themselves?" Luke asked.

"Well, I got here, good news," Johnny replied. "Any pizza left?

"There should be," Luke assured, looking around. "Somewhere."

"Oh," Dan replied, holding a crust. "I think I just had the last slice."

"Damn it!" Johnny groaned.

"Nah, no sweat," Luke approached a box. "There should still be some left-"

Luke flipped the box lid, only to discover it was just another empty pizza box with barely any cheese stuck to the lid. He turns to Dan with an annoyed look.

"Bloody hell, Dan. I told you to make sure there was plenty for everyone."

"Hey, you're the one who said to order for anyone that shows up," Dan raised his arms in defense. "And you said you weren't sure if the lad would show."

"What?!" Johnny exclaimed, turning to Luke. "You actually didn't think I was coming?!"

"Well, at first you did seem more like the stay-at-home with your nose-in-a-book kind of guy," Luke admitted with a shrug. "But I really did hope you'd accept the invitation."

"All right, all right, all right, let's just calm ourselves before we get a heart attack," Dan came in. "We'll just order another pizza and I'll pay for it."

"Let's make it that bacon wrapped pizza this time," Luke instructed, then turns to Johnny. "You like anything else?

"Some pepperoni perhaps?" Johnny asked.

"All right, pepperoni it is. You just sit here and chill, I'll go make the call."

As Luke went to the kitchen to place the call, Johnny casually approached the couch where Dan and Heather were sitting. He hoped to sit at the empty end of the couch, but instead Dan scooted over so now Johnny found himself facing a space between the two classmates. Johnny took a deep breath then sat himself between Dan and Heather. Neither one said a word at first while the music continued to play.

"So..." Johnny began. "Are we expecting more guests any time?"

"Ah, Luke tends to exaggerate his parties," Dan replied. "Technically we're the 'only' ones that actually show up to his party. Not like I had anything better to do."

"Well, we asked this one guy if he wanted to come tonight," Heather pointed out. "But… The dude got a nervous breakdown and bailed. He kept talking about it, but I didn't take it seriously."

"What was his problem?" Johnny asked.

"I think he kept babbling about crashing a motorcycle in the guest room, a midget wrestler, and fireworks in the toaster…"

Johnny's eyes widen as Heather continued her story, wondering how such a person can even exist. But the startling thing was that Heather wasn't even finished with her story.

"Oh, and something about a pony," Heather finished.

"The hell?" was all Johnny could say.

"All right folks, I made the call," Luke announced, as he returned. "The pizza will be here in twenty minutes."

"Twenty minutes," Heather sighed. "So what does that leave us to do?"

"I might have the answer to that," Johnny answered.

The trio looked confused as Johnny walked toward the front door. He made his way to the bench and picked up the box he placed. He carried it back to the living room as the others looked on.

"I was thinking that since we're all together, maybe we can play this."

As he placed the game onto the table, the trio took a closer work at the wooden game board sitting before them. It was certainly unlike any game they have ever seen before.

"'Jumanji'," Dan read. "Sounds like those 'Jumon Jumon' crisps I purchased during an outing in Spain."

"A board game?" Heather asked. "I'm surprised you didn't try to pull out 'spin the bottle' with me here."

"That was sort've my first thought," Luke added.

"Hey I just thought I'd bring over something we can all do together," Johnny spoke, defensively. "I found it just yesterday at the beach."

"What was it doing there?" Dan asked, curiously.

"To be honest, I don't know. But I sure pity the poor guy who lost it. I mean, just look at this thing!

"Hmm…" Heather examined the box. "Decent craftsmanship for sure. But how do we play?"

"Maybe there's some instructions inside," Luke suggested.

"There are," Johnny answered.

To prove it, Johnny unfolded each side of the board, revealing the playing board toward the trio. Only this time, positioned on the starting positions were the small marble animal tokens. Johnny noticed the pieces for a few seconds, but then turned to the one side of the board with the instructions.

"'Jumanji: A game for those who seek to find a way to leave their world behind'," Johnny read. "'You roll the dice to move your token. Doubles get another turn. The first player to reach the end wins'. Seems pretty straightforward."

"DIBS on the crocodile," Heather called out.

"Damn it," Dan cursed silently. "Well, I guess I'll settle for the monkey."

"I got the rhino," Johnny spoke.

"Nuts, low man again," Luke groaned. "Guess I'll have what's left."

Luke reached for the elephant token to pick it up. But then his eyebrows narrowed when he noticed the token appeared to be stuck on the game board.

"Hey, what gives? It's stuck!"

Of course, Luke wasn't the only one who noticed something was wrong. Johnny and the others tried to take their individual tokens only to realize that no matter how hard they pulled they weren't moving off the board. At least not on their own.

"Must be something sticky under there," Dan noted.

"Fucking token won't move," Heather cursed.

"That's strange," Johnny added. "They were just fine when I found it."

"Anything we can use as replacements?" Dan asked.

"Hang on a sec," Luke stood up. "I got some coins in my bedroom drawer. We can use those instead."

As Luke rushed upstairs to fetch the coins, the remainder of the party stared down at the board and were trying to figure out what other secrets this game had.

"So, while we're waiting, who should roll first?" Johnny asked.

"Ladies first, anyone?" Heather offered.

"Yeah right, Heather," Dan replied, snarkily. "You 'always' cheat!"

"Cheat? MOI?! Pffft… Please. If you'd think with a bit more strategy, you'd learn to appreciate my style! Besides, I was talking about YOU."

"Oye!" Dan threw his arms in the air, as Heather smileed coyly.

Johnny was about to say something when he saw Luke return from downstairs, a set of coins were held in the palm of his hand.

"Okay ladies and germs, I got the coins," Luke announced. "First come, first serve, and no more arguing."

"Dibs on the nickel!" Heather shouted, grabbing the coin.

"You always call dibs on everything!" Dan retorted.

"How else am I gonna get the best pick?"

"Never mind," Dan sighed. "I'll take the dime."

"Why don't you take the first roll, Dan," Johnny offered, holding the dice.

"All right, give it here."

Dan reached for the dice, taking them from Johnny's hand. He motioned his arm up and down before rolling the dice. The dice rolled until it landed on a three. As he reached to move his dime, he paused when the monkey token slid three spaces… All on its own.

"What the shit?"

"Sweet, this must be electronic!" Heather remarked.

"But that can't be," Johnny spoke, tapping the board. "It's wood."

"Probably internal, dude. There's plenty of games like that."

"Hey guys, look at this," Luke pointed.

The four turned to the crystal ball in the center of the board where a swirl of yellow smoke swirled inside. All at once, the smoke formed into words spelt out into a sort of riddle.

"'Big as fists these balls of ice'," Dan read. "'Through umbrellas they will slice'."

"What does that mean?" Luke asked.

"Oh goody," Heather spoke excitedly. "I love riddles; I think I know this."

Before Heather could answer, they heard a pelt on the roof causing the four to slowly look up. It was followed with another pelt and another, soon a multitude can be heard clattering on the roof of the house.

"The hell is that?" Luke looked up.

"It's coming from outside!" Johnny pointed out.

They cautiously made their way toward the front door as the pelting grew louder. Johnny slowly opened the door and to their surprise a sudden hail storm was taking place. The tiny bits of ice crashed along the street, even cracking the windows on the cars. But even strangely, the hail seemed to be falling from the clear day sky.

"It's hailing?" Heather wondered, adjusting her glasses. "That's trippy."

"Okay, this is freaking me out," Dan looked around.

"How the hell did that happen?" Johnny asked. "This wasn't in the forecast today."

"Johnny, this is Fleming," Luke pointed out. "We don't get hail storms!"

Suddenly, a hail stone the size of a fist smashed into Luke's mailbox as stones of similar size hurtled from the sky like bullets. More and more of these fist-sized stones rained upon the streets like bullets, smashing flower pots, the roofs of the surrounding homes, and even hit a fire hydrant so hard, it released a stream of water.

"Everyone, back inside!" Johnny shouted.

Without a second thought, the group ran back inside the house, as Luke locked the door behind him. Suddenly, a larger hail stone crashed through the window causing the four to jump back while the stone rolled along the living room. The gang stuck close together as they watched the hail stone spin around before coming to a stop.

"Holy… Fuck!" Heather exclaimed.

"Yep, this is no coincidence," Luke agreed.

"Think we should pack up and go?" Dan asked, with a note of sarcasm.

"In that weather?!" Johnny exclaimed. "We'll be pelted to death!"

"No shit, Sherlock," Heather remarked.

"All right let's just chill for a sec," Luke motioned. "That storm is probably going to get worse before it gets better. So I suggest we all gather down in the basement where we'll be safe."

"We can definitely continue the game down there," Johnny added. "At least to keep us occupied."


	4. Chapter 4

Luke closed the basement door behind him, as the rest cautiously trekked down the stairs into the basement. Johnny kept the game close to him, while Dan and Heather looked around with uncertainty. Even as they were deep below the house, a nearby window showed that the hail storm was only growing worse with tiny hail stones gathered in a pile. As all this was happening, they couldn't help but ponder whether this mysterious weather phenomenon was a coincidence or not.

"I guess the pizza delivery is out of the equation," Heather remarked.

"If he gets here, I'm giving him a 'big' tip!" Dan declared.

"Maybe the storm will pass," Johnny assured. "Hail storms don't last that long, right?"

"So, we're just gonna sit it out here or what?" Dan asked, uncertain.

As they talked, Johnny pulled out a table from a corner and set the game on top, opening the lids.

"Or… We could finish playing the game while the storm passes."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Heather butted in. "You STILL want to play?"

"We might as well; got nothing else to do down here."

"Yeah, I'd rather play seven minutes in heaven… With DAN!"

"Hey now let's get ahead of ourselves," Dan backed off. "Besides Heather, you'd only have to ask."

"I was being facetious."

"Great, you two can argue about it," Johnny suggested, grabbing the dice. "While I take a turn."

Johnny rolled the dice into a 5, causing Johnny's game token to slide along the spaces. Another riddle soon formed within the crystal ball as Johnny read aloud.

"'They march and eat, and march and eat. If I were you, I'd watch my feet.'"

"I don't like the sound of that…" Luke murmured.

"OW!"

Johnny kicked a leg up when he felt a sharp sting causing everyone else to jump back. He reached down and pulled up a tiny creature the size of a nickel in his fingers, it's mandibles chomping fiercely and it's tiny legs wiggling in his grasp.

"What the hell is that!?" Heather shouted.

"An ant," Johnny noted. "It bit my ankle!"

"That's an AWFULLY big ant," Dan pointed out. "An ant with… Really… Big… Mandibles…"

They noticed Dan's eyed widen as they turned toward where he was staring and all at once they shared in Dan's shock.

"Oh hell!" Luke shouted, getting up a chair.

Suddenly, a mass army of ants burst through a crack in the basement wall marching towards the startled quartet.

"Whoa!" Johnny shouted, standing up as the ant escaped his grip.

"No, no, no, NOPE!" Heather shook her head, hopping toward a nearby couch.

As the four find a safe place from the floor, Luke looked around as hundreds more emerge from the darkness swarming all across the floor. Their mandibles snapped in the air looking for something to grip. And all the while they tried to keep their distance from these savage insects.

"Okay, now this is definitely not a coincidence," Dan concluded, tucking his trousers into his socks.

"LUKE, GET US OUT OF HERE!" Heather shouted.

"Do something, man!" Johnny added.

"Everyone, stomp on 'em!" Luke shouted.

Luke hopped from the table, squishing a few on the ground. The group tried to stomp on the ants, several scattering to avoid their feet. Heather hopped from the couch toward the table and onto a chair. Holding on and with all her strength, Heather hopped the chair towards a desk with a cabinet hanging over it. She reached out, opening a cabinet when she noticed some ants inside of it. She quickly reached in, pulling out a spray can and lighter, shaking off any ants clinging to her sleeve. Lighting the lighter and holding the spray can in front, she aimed for the concrete floor flooded with ants.

"BURN, YOU BASTARDS!"

Amy pushed the nozzle, causing the spray to blow against the flames spreading fire against the ants. Several ants were caught in the fire, running around, while several other ants managed to spread away from the flames. But these ants kept fighting back, as the boys felt the sting of their bites along their feet.

"Ow!" Johnny cried, holding his foot. "It's no use, there's just too many!"

Though she held her own, the sprayer suddenly wasn't shooting more flames and Heather hurled the empty canister and lighter aside.

"Damn it!" Heather cursed. "We gotta get upstairs!"

"Are you crazy?" Dan shouted. "It might still be pelting hail out there!"

"Better than being down here," Johnny noted. "Come on!"

Left with little choice, the four teenagers dashed towards the stairs with Heather bolting ahead towards the door. The ant swarm climbed their way up the stairs, some climbing along the rails. But once they were through the door, they quickly shut the door and bolted it shut.

"That door's not going to hold 'em," Dan pointed out. "I'll grab a couple of tea towels!"

Dan made his way towards the kitchen, as the others took a moment to catch their breath.

"Those looked a hell of a lot like army ants down there," Johnny noted.

"Where… The hell… Did they… Come from?" Luke asked, between breathes.

"Have you idiots not been paying attention to a single riddle that game spouted?" Heather questioned. "First it mentions balls of ice, then it hails. It mentions biting and eating, then army ants swam all over the basement. Everything that's happened in the game, it's happening for real!"

As Heather finished her explanation, Dan came back with a handful of tea towels, quickly stuffing them underneath the basement door.

"Yup, there's no denying it now."

"Hold on, guys!" Luke said, looking around. "Did it just get quiet all of a sudden?"

Confused, Johnny quickly made his way to the front door, opening it slightly. Apart from all the bits of fresh hail lying all over the street, the damage to the car, and the road flooded with water from the busted fire hydrant, the hail storm seemingly ceased.

"Well, least it finally stopped hailing," Johnny concluded, closing the door.

"At least we know these things don't last forever," Heather added.

"Good…" Luke sighed, sliding against the wall. "Because I don't think I'm ready for anymore excitement."

As Dan and Heather gathered over Luke, while he massaged his bite wounds, Johnny took the game board into the living room. The three turned to see Johnny setting up the game board with a look of shock.

"Dude, why are you still holding onto that thing after all the trouble it's caused?" Heather asked.

"Hail's been coming down on us and an army of ants attack us, and you STILL want to continue playing?!" Dan asked.

"Dude, no…" Luke spoke, as he approached. "I've been taking it easy on you, but just… If you think…"

"Guys!" Johnny shouted, interrupting Luke. "Look, I think we missed these instructions."

"What?!" Dan shouted.

"You're kidding!" Luke groaned, throwing his hands up.

"What now?" Heather asked.

Luke and the others gathered around Johnny as he pointed to some writing on the other side of the game board. Seeing it was upside down, they flipped the game circularly so they could read the inscription.

"'Adventurers beware'…," Johnny read. "I don't like the sound of that."

"Oh, move over!" Heather groaned, pushing Johnny to the side. "'Adventurers beware: Do not begin unless you intend to finish. The exciting consequences of the game will vanish only when a player has reached Jumanji and called out its name…'"

"You've got to be shitting me…" Luke groaned.

"What the hell kind of rule is that?!" Heather pointed out. "If someone straight up DIES, how do we finish?"

"Does that mean we could be in a Life or Death situation right now?!" Dan worried.

"You know what, to hell with this!" Luke said, grabbing the game. "I'm putting this in the fireplace and burning the god damned thing 'til it's nothing but ashes!"

"No!" Johnny shouted, grabbing Luke. "Don't you see? This game 'is' straightforward. The only way to make all this go away is if one of us wins the game. We started it; we finish it!"

"Fine…" Luke sighed. "But THEN we burn it!"

Just as Luke surrendered the game to Johnny, Heather slaped Luke by the back of his head.

"Earth to Luke! Did you not see what's happening here?" Heather pointed out. "For all we know, that thing has a mind of its own. We piss it off, it could kill us off just for fun! This is WAY beyond us!"

"I hate it even more when SHE might be right," Dan groaned, holding his head.

"That game has already wrecked my house," Luke retorted. "With a freaking hail storm… IN GEORGIA!"

"You do have insurance though, right?" Dan asked.

"Yes… But NOT against ants!"

"Well, least that covers one problem," Dan replied.

As they made their way to the living room, Luke quickly made his way into the kitchen and went through the bottom drawers. The gang set the game in position just as Luke returned with a hammer in his hand.

"If we're going to play this game, I'm playing it safe."

"Me too!" Heather added, hiding under the coffee table.

"Bloody coward," Dan muttered.

"Bloody 'smart'. If that hail storm returns or something else comes up, I'm covered."

"Not if it comes from beneath you."

"Oh, shuddup!"

"YOU shut up!"

"BOTH of you shut up!" Johnny shouted. "Now who goes next?"

"I'm rolling!" Luke confirmed, taking the dice.

Luke rolled the dice till it rolled into a four. As Luke passed the final two spaces, another riddle was formed from within the crystal ball.

"'Beware the floor on which you stand, the ground is quicker than the sand'."

No soon as Luke finished reading, he screamed when he felt the floor suddenly drag him down. He looked down realizing the floor has transformed into quick sand, as the others jumped onto the couch and Heather scrambled from underneath the coffee table.

"Luke!" Dan shouted.

"I hate it when I'm right!" Heather groaned.

"YOU'RE right?! I was the one who said it'll come from beneath!"

"Guys, would you shut up and do something?!" Luke cried, panicking.

"Luke, don't struggle!" Johnny calmly instructed. "This is exactly what happened on 'Man vs. Wild'. The more you struggle, the faster you sink! Just remain calm and we'll get you out!"

"Okay, okay. I'm calm... I'm calm..."

"Now, slowly reach down, grab your leg and lift it out."

Doing as instructed, Luke thrust his arms into the sand and reached down till he felt his leg. Slowly, he pulled his right leg with all his might.

"Good, now the other one!" Johnny instructed.

Just as before, Luke reached down, grabbed his left leg and slowly pulled it through the sand.

"Okay, now we're gonna try and pull you out!"

"I got a hold of him!" Dan shouted, grabbing Luke's arms.

Johnny wrapped his arms around Dan's chest, as Heather did the same to Johnny.

"Okay, everyone pull!" Johnny shouted.

The three kids pulled with all their might as Luke could his feel body slowly slide through the sand. All the while Luke closed his eyes, silently praying to be free.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on..."

"Just stay calm, Luke!" Johnny assured. "We almost got you!"

"Slowly but surely, Luke's body emerged from the quicksand as his friends kept pulling with all their might.

"I'm calm… I'm very calm…" Luke spoke to himself. "I am very… Very calm…"

"You don't look very calm," Dan noted.

"SHUT UP, DAN!" Luke shouted, sinking back. "You have no idea how calmly mad I am!"

"Easy, big boy!" Heather shouted. "We're getting your ass out of there!"

"All together, guys!" Johnny instructed.

"On the count of three!" Heather shouted back. "1... 2... 3!"

With one great heave, the three friends successfully pulled Luke from out of the quicksand, which suddenly faded from the living room floor. And yet there still remained a bit of sand from below Luke's waist, as he took a few deep breathes following that traumatic experience.

"You alright, buddy?" Heather asked.

"Fine, very fine," Luke replied, taking deep breathes. "I need a drink."

"Okay then," Heather nodded, pushing Dan aside. "Go get him something heavy!"

"Why am I getting it?!"

"You jinxed it by saying it'd come from beneath, YOU get him a drink… NOW!"

"FINE!" Dan huffed, tilting his hat. "What'll you be having, Luke?"

"I don't care… I'm just saving it for that game…"

"So Johnny, you want a coke," Dan offers. "Or… What, Coke?"

"Do you have any Diet?"

"I'll see if there's any left."

Dan turned and walked into the kitchen, as Johnny and Heather helped Luke onto the couch.

"I wasn't thirsty anyway!" Heather called out, sarcastically.

As Luke settled onto the couch, Johnny picked up the dice then held them up to Luke. He looked at the dice, then back to Johnny, to the dice then Johnny. Both times, Luke didn't quite get the gesture.

"What?"

"You rolled doubles," Johnny pointed out. "You get another turn."

"Fuck…" Luke cursed.

Luke picked up the dice, rolling a three. Luke's token slid another three spaces as the crystal ball revealed a new riddle from the smoke.

"'This will not be an easy mission; monkeys slow the expedition'."

"What mission?" Heather asked, an eyebrow raised.

Suddenly, they heard Dan screaming from inside the kitchen, followed by plates crashing and simian chattering.

"What the hell?" Luke asked.

"Dan!" Johnny shouted, running to the kitchen.

"Why did I ask…?" Heather asked to herself.

Heather and Luke followed Johnny toward the kitchen, just as Dan burst from the door, his head covered with squashed fruit and flour.

"I think the drinks are going to be on hold!"

"What's going on in there?" Johnny asked.

"See for yourself!"

Dan reopened the door to the kitchen and the others looked in shock as ten to fifteen monkeys were scattered all over the kitchen. The whole group of monkeys were brown-furred devils, with a dark skinned face that matches the palm of their hands and feet. They broke plates on the tile floor, stealing food from the fridge, even spilling a few on the floor creating a chaotic mess.

"Oh god, no…" Luke groaned.

"Oh god, yes!" Dan retorted.

"It just 'had' to be monkeys!" Heather groaned.

"Well, it could be worse," Johnny suggests. "They could be the kind that…"

"Don't you dare jinx it!"

"Block the door?"

"Good idea."

"But they'll eat all my food!" Luke moaned.

"You can buy more food when this is over," Heather argued. "What you can't buy is a cure for whatever disease those things are carrying."

Suddenly, a tomato splattered against Heather's face thrown from one of the monkeys, which snickered from as it searched for more fruit. Heather's face was still with anger, as bits of tomato dripped off her face.

"Lock the door before I commit an act of animal cruelty."

Dan snickered, which Heather respond with a stiff punch to his arm. Just then, as Dan held his arm, he saw one of the monkeys open a drawer pulling out a set of kitchen knives.

"Oh shit, they've found the cutlery!" Dan shouted.

"Duck!" Luke shouted.

The group quickly shut the door, just as the monkey hurled the kitchen knives. The sharp blades imbedded through the door frame, one of which just inches from Dan's nose and one scratching Heather by the shoulder, cutting the shirt fabric.

"Phew!" Luke sighed, locking the door. "Everyone okay?"

"Nothing a few years of therapy won't fix," Heather snarked, holding her shoulder.

"That's one room never to go in again," Johnny added.

"Aggressive little bastards," Dan muttered. "Animal control will have a field day when they hear about…"

Suddenly, they heard glass being smashed from behind the door. Before they knew it, the chattering grew steadily quieter until there was nothing but silence within the kitchen.

"Dibs!" Dan shouted. "Not checking!"

"I'm not checking on that," Heather butts in, wiping her face. "And that's 'not' how dibs works."

As Heather and Dan argued, Johnny peered out the window near the front door. From where he stood, he saw all the other monkeys running out onto the street. The one up front holding the other knives, supposedly the leader, motioned for the group to split off in different directions while he led another down one street.

"They got out," Johnny said. "Not good."

"You didn't lock the back door, didn't you?" Dan spoke, confronting Luke.

"I didn't think bloody monkeys would be crashing about and wrecking shit in my own kitchen!"

"Well, they're gone now," Heather spoke. "Animal control will definitely have a field day."

"Hey, that's what I said!" Dan argued.

"Let it go, Dan," Johnny spoke, holding the dice. "Looks like it's your turn, Heather."

"No chance I can take a rain check?"

"You 'want' those monkeys spreading disease to the whole town?"

"If you're gonna put that on me…" Heather replied, grabbing the dice.

Waving her hands gingerly, Heather dropped the dice as it rolled along the game board.

"There, see: I rolled a three. What now?"

As if the game responded, Heather's token slid along the three spaces as Heather adjusted her glasses to read the new riddle.

"'His fangs are sharp, he likes your taste,'" Heather read. "'Your party better move post haste'… I swear if this is a glittery vampire, I'm going home."

Just then, a low growl was heard and Heather saw the three boys look with wide eyes, as if there was something ferocious behind her.

"No…" Luke whispered, fearfully.

"Heather… Turn around," Johnny spoke quietly. "Slowly… And quietly…"

Holding her breath, Heather slowly turned around, and held in a gasp at the very sight before her. There on all four legs stood an enormous lion, a long scar over it's right eye and one blind eye on the left. The beast seemed to smell her fear, as it stood there scratching the floor with it's claws.

"For the love of God," Dan harshly whispered. "Don't panic."

"I'm not panicking," Heather whispered back. "YOU'RE panicking!"

"Shut up!" Johnny quietly shouted. "Don't break eye contact. If we move backwards very slow and don't look away, we can make it to the front door…"

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, drawing the group's attention and breaking their eye contact with the lion, who let out a loud and ferocious roar.

"RUN!"

"SON OF A BITCH!" Dan shouted, dashing away.

The four teenagers burst into a run, as the lion chased the gang all throughout the house. They tipped over some chairs and tables hoping to slow the lion down, yet the beast was able to dodge any obstacle or bound over with it's legs. They went through one room, then exited through another. But no matter where they ran, the beast was only a few steps closer.

"Where the fuck do we go?!" Heather shouted.

"Quick, upstairs!" Luke pointed.

They dashed up toward the stairs, as the lion followed in hot pursuit.

"Split up!" Dan shouted.

"Right! Everyone take a room!" Johnny instructed.

Heather ran into the bathroom, closed the door behind her, hopped into the bathtub and crouched down; Luke ran toward his own bedroom, while Johnny hid in the closet. That however left Dan all alone in the hallway with those two rooms locked.

"Oh sure, leave me to be devoured by a bloody lion!" Dan shouted, sarcastically.

Dan suddenly saw the lion's shadow then quickly ran to an open doorway to the spare bedroom. Dan clicked the door shut just as the lion hopped over the stairs into the hallway. The beast stalked the area, trying to sniff out it's prey yet their scent was everywhere leaving it confused. Then the lion spotted the bathroom door slightly cracked open. Heather could see the lion's muzzle edging toward her, silently cursing herself for not closing the door all the way.

Then, using it's nose, the lion slowly pried the door open and slowly stalked his way into the bathroom, sniffing his meal. Heather peered out of the tub through the shower curtain, slowly letting out a breath as the lion searched the room.

"Guess it's my turn after all…" Heather spoke to herself.

Slowly, as not to alert the lion of her presence, Heather steadily positioned each foot on the sides of the walls surrounding the tub. Carefully, she climbed towards the ceiling. When all of a sudden, one of her feet squeaked against the tiles, causing the lion to swift and pounced toward the bathtub with a roar. Screaming, Heather grabbed the curtain rod, swung over the lion, slid on the floor, and bolted out the door, shutting it tight behind her.

Heather breathed a sigh of relief, when suddenly the lion's claws pierced through the door as he desperately tried to break it down. Heather held the door for a good few seconds, until the claws slid back through the wooden door. The lion roared his fury and anger at the situation, trapped inside the bathroom.

Another door opened, as Luke slowly peer through the small opening.

"Is it gone?"

"Not exactly, but out of it for now," Heather sighed, then glared. "You're welcome!"

When it was safe to come out, Johnny and Dan slowly emerged from hiding. Johnny stepping out of the closet, while Dan departed from the spare bedroom.

"Okay…" Johnny said, "So far, we've had ants in the basement, monkeys in the kitchen, and 'now'…a lion in the bathroom."

"Do we really want to know what's gonna come next?" Dan asked. "I don't think I want to play anymore."

"We don't really have a choice."

"Frankly, I'm tired of all this mystical board game bullshit!" Luke complained. "Let's just go downstairs, roll the dice, and get this over with. As far as this whole party goes, I'm done!"

The doorbell rang again from downstairs, Luke paused briefly and sighed.

"As I was saying… Let's get this over with, 'after' pizza."


	5. Chapter 5

Outside the front door, the pizza-delivery guy continued ringing the doorbell. He wore a red buttoned shirt with the company name sewed on the left side with long tan pants held by a black belt and he baseball cap which also had the name.

"Hello," The pizza man called out. "Hungry Howie's! Anybody home?

"What's up?" Dan replied.

"Hey, uh, you guys ordered another pizza, right? Bacon and pepperoni?"

"Yeah…" Dan answered, nervously. "We ordered… That… Recently."

"Is everything all right in there?" The pizza man asked, suspiciously. "I heard some screaming and… Did I just hear a lion?"

"Lion?! What, no! No, no! No lions here… Actually, we were just… Watching… 'The Ghost and the Darkness'! Yeah, really good movie. Severely underrated, in my opinion, you should rent it sometime."

"O… Kay. Well, no offense but the volume seemed awfully loud."

"Yeah, well… The TV's been having some audio issues. We had to turn it up because we could barely hear the lines. But we'll definitely turn it down."

"Probably for the best," The Pizza man nods, handing the pizza. "That'll be $8.99."

"Thanks," Dan replied, handing twenty dollars. "Keep the change."

Before the pizza man could reply, Dan shut the door on his face, leaving him standing there and hearing some commotion in the living room. Preferring not to investigate, with a few deliveries to attend to, he turned around with a shrug, stuffed the twenty dollars in his pocket, opened the car door and sat down while closing the door behind him.

"Suburbs are weird," The man replied, starting the ignition.

Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of something falling, looked up, and… CRASH! He barely had time to cover his face when a giant hail stone crashed from out of nowhere, shattering the front windshield and sending tiny shards flying out all over the seats. Lowering his hands, his eyes widen at the giant hunk of ice that destroyed his car.

"WHAT THE-?"

* * *

A while later, the gang had since sat in the living room together in near complete silence. The pizza box sat in the middle of the table, all the kids having finished off the pizza all the way to the last crust sitting in the corner. In that time, no one said anything, but still their thoughts raced on what transpired within that short period of time. But then Heather cleared his throat, breaking the moment of peace.

"So…" Heather started off. "This happened."

"Mmm…" Dan muttered, chewing a slice. "This sure is good pizza. Nothing weird about that."

"Oh yes, it's all good here," Luke replied, snarkly. "Nothing like a homicidal lion, that just happened to be summoned from the jungle, roaming around in my house. Everything's just great."

"Of all the things from the jungle I could've summoned, why couldn't it be a friendly lemur or Tarzan," Heather added. "A very 'chiseled' Tarzan."

"Just a roll of the dice, I guess," Logan considered, looking at the ceiling. "At least he seems to have quieted down."

"Good…" Luke answered, dryly.

"But what I wanna know is… How is all this happening? I mean, where did the game come from, and who the hell made it in the first place?"

"Didn't you say you found it at the beach, yesterday?" Heather asked.

"Well yeah, that's where I found it, but it was in some crate with French writing all over it that had washed up on the shore," Johnny admitted. "Though I doubt whoever made it was French, because all the writing inside is in English."

"Maybe the best we can do is examine the facts," Dan suggested. "I mean, the game is clearly built and designed with some form of African jungle theme, next thing we know every creature we've encountered are those we'd find in the jungle, and even the little game pieces. What if it's just possible that maybe that's where the game comes from?"

"Yeah," said Luke, "Like maybe it was made by some African witch doctor who placed a curse on it or something. I don't know, it's the best explanation I can come up with!"

"Then just how did it get to France, genius?" asked Heather.

"Maybe," said Johnny, "We're not the first ones to have played it. Maybe the people who had played it before put it in that crate…to get rid of it."

"Johnny, you don't just play a game like this and expect to ship it to America!" Heather argued. "Don't you think we'd have heard of something like this on the news?!"

"You know, now that you mention it," said Luke, "I do remember hearing something on the news a few days ago about a cargo plane from Paris crashing into the ocean."

"Yeah," replied Dan. "Me too. It was struck by lightning during a storm that was said to have appeared out of nowhere."

"A lightning storm," Johnny pondered. "That would explain why that crate was floating on the beach. But I didn't really pay attention to all the details."

"You don't watch the news at all, do you?" Heather asked, folding her arms.

"Excuse me if I was too busy preparing for my college career."

"You guys think that game caused that lightning storm?" Luke questioned. "Like it knew it was being gotten rid of?"

"I do know this," Heather added in, pointing toward the board game. "Whatever it is or what it's doing, that thing is 'not' a game."

"Hell," said Dan. "Who's to say that whoever sent it in the crate were the first ones to play it either?"

"Dan might be on to something," Johnny admitted. "If whatever's happening now was undoubtedly as bad as it was back in France, there could've been other players that went through the same thing. It was probably worse in the town before that and the town before that. Why this remained unheard of, I can't say for sure. Maybe the game wiped out everyone else's memories like it never happened, or perhaps only the game's players would remember, figured no one would believe them. Whatever the case may be, it's all the same scenario: The game will only get worse and worse for everyone in this town, until we finish it and it all disappears."

"Well, shit," Luke spoke, which was all he could said.

Just then, a loud roar caused the four to turn upstairs as they could hear the lion stirring a commotion.

"Oh boy, he's awake," Johnny pointed out. "And he sounds hungry."

"I got it," Dan sighed.

Lifting off the couch, Dan made his way into the kitchen as the other three looked on. He soon emerged with a whole raw chicken from out of the fridge, put a finger to his lips to silence them, and slowly walked up the stairs as the others remained on the couch.

"That was tomorrow's dinner," Luke replied.

"Oh, get over it!" Heather retorted.

* * *

Upstairs, the lion was roaming around in the bathroom, scratching his paws against the tiles. Just then, the doorknob inside the bathroom slowly turned and caused the lion to turn curiously. The door slowly pulled open causing a light creek as it's eyes saw a raw chicken squeeze through the crack.

"Dinner's served!" The lion heard a voice shout.

Before the Lion could move, the chicken was tossed toward him as the door quickly closed. From the other side, Dan quickly stepped back as he heard the lion ravenously devour the chicken. Taking a deep breath, he walked back down the stairs and into the living room casually taking a seat with the others who sat silently.

"You know, he's not so bad," Dan replied, looking up the stairs. "I think I'll call him Bernard."

"Oh, dude, you don't just name these things," Luke groaned, holding his head. "Once you name it, you're going to want to keep it! And I don't think my superintendent's going to be happy if he found out we let a lion spend the night in the bathtub!"

"Luke's right, so don't get too attached to it," Johnny suggested. "Anyways, it's your turn to roll."

"Oh all right," Dan sighed.

Dan reached over the coffee table, grabbing the dice in his hand. He shook his hands and made to roll when Luke suddenly stood up.

"Wait!"

Dan paused as Luke lifted his hammer over the game. Johnny took out a metal baseball bat sitting in the broom closet while Heather pulled out a sharp kitchen knife that was stuck on the kitchen door. Dan suddenly got the idea and made for the study, pulling out a poker from the fireplace.

"Everybody set?" Dan asked.

"Mhmm," The three nodded simultaneously.

"Okay… Let's get this over with."

Dan finally rolled the dice, which lands to add up to 5. They watched with their weapons raised as Dan's token moved. As it slid the final three spaces, another riddle formed within the crystal ball.

"Though small and slimy, they're no joke," Dan read. "Touch their skin, you will croak."

The four kids turned to each other wondering what that meant. Just then, a small creature hopped onto the coffee table alongside the board game, startling the group. It was a frog with a red body and black spots, it's eyes darting toward the four as its throat puffed out making a creepy 'croaking' noise.

"What the-?" Johnny peered.

"It's a frog." Heather said.

"Better than what's happened so far," Luke concluded.

"Yeah…" Dan replied nervously. "But who's to say it's just the one?"

Just then, a small blue frog hopped onto the table besides the red one, followed by a yellow frog. Dan leapt off the couch to avoid touching a green frog that hopped on the arms of the couch.

"JESUS!"

As the four friends huddled together, they suddenly saw a whole swarm of multi-colored frogs, hundreds of tiny creatures surrounding them. They crawled through the cracks of the door, climbed along the walls, even emerging from under the couch cushions. The whole room was alive with the slimy creatures, their croaks echoing in the room and their eyes never leaving the group.

"Brilliant, my turn comes around and I bring the Plagues of Egypt!"

"Goes to show that even God can't stand you!" Heather retorted.

Suddenly, one of the frogs hopped onto Heather's shoe. Startled, she kicked her foot up, sending the frog hurling in mid-air and sending it toward the window.

"Oh, hell no! These boots were made for walking, and I'm not about to have traumatic memories on them!"

Heather was just about to reach toward one of the frogs, when Johnny grabbed her wrist.

"Heather, don't touch 'em!" Johnny shouted. "Remember what the riddle said? These are obviously poison dart frogs! We touch them, we're dead!"

"Will it kill us if we just squashed them with out feet?" Luke asked.

"We squash these little buggers, it's gonna be like a Quentin Tarantino film in here!" Dan pointed out.

"Then how the fuck do we get rid of these bastards?" Luke asked, anxiously.

"I know what to do!" Johnny lifted a finger.

Johnny ran up the stairs, barely stepping over the frogs and refraining his hands from the railing where the others were crawling. He pulled open the broom closet and gathered several brooms, one of which he held and swept off the frogs that blocked his path as he made his way downstairs.

"I saw this in an arcade game; we'll sweep 'em out!"

"Great, an excuse to do Luke's housework!" Heather commented, snarkly.

"Stop whining and sweep!" Dan shouted, grabbing a broom.

Dan started sweeping the frogs aside, many of whom slid along the floor or smacked against the walls. The others each grabbed a broom and swung against any frog they came upon, while blocking the few that hopped towards them.

"GET OUT, YOU LITTLE BUGGERS!" Luke shouted.

"Don't you mean 'froggers'?" Heather corrected, jokingly.

"Buggers, froggers, whatever! JUST GET THEM OUTTA MY HOUSE!"

"Duck!"

Heather made Luke duck as she batted away the frogs that hopped toward them, their legs clutching the glass on a mirror stand. Luke turned toward the mess, then back to Heather.

"You're lucky you little shits are cute!" Heather shouted.

"On the couch!" Johnny shouted.

Johnny swept the couch cushions, pushing all the frogs aside with the broom. All around, the frogs hopped and croaked around the floor as the gang kept their distance using their brooms to sweep them aside. Meanwhile, more frogs kept making their way into the house some of which starting to emerge from the pipes in the kitchen sink.

"There's too many of these fuckers!" Heather shouted. "We gotta find a place to store them!"

"There's my pool out in the backyard," Luke added. "It'll be big enough with enough water to keep them occupied."

"Sure, 'cause their happiness is suddenly so integral."

"As long as it gets them out of our hair," Dan added in. "That's good enough for me."

"Quick, open the sliding door!" Johnny shouted.

Without a second though, Luke worked his way towards the sliding door almost slipping on some of the frogs that got under his sneaker. Luckily, he grabbed onto the door handle, retaining his balance. With a heave, he slid the door open, ushering the frogs to the pool.

"Come on, get outta here, you little creeps!

"Shoo, go away!" Johnny barked, sweeping the frogs. "Get in that water!"

"Piss off!" Dan shouted, ushering another batch.

Soon enough, the four kids managed to sweep all the poison dart frogs out of the house, sliding a few into the cold water in the pool. They quickly made their way back inside, sliding the door closed just as the frogs hopped along the glass.

"Let's hope they stay there," Heather hoped, sighing in relief.

"Just until this bastard game is over," Dan added. "So… Who's up for a turn?"

"That'll be me," Johnny answered, examining the floor. "But maybe we should clean the living room. I don't know if you noticed, but those frogs were spraying all over the floor!"

"Urgh, gross," Heather groaned.

"Got any Flash, Luke?" Dan asked.

"Just a few cleaning stuff under the sink," Luke pointed out. "Provided there aren't more of those buggers in there."

* * *

Some time passed, wearing gloves for protection, the gang were furiously cleaning the living room removing anything the frogs left behind. They wiped the windows and mirrors with glass cleaner, mopped the floors with floor cleaner, and absorbed the remains of the spray with paper towels and squeezing the rest out of sponges into the sink. Finally, as they removed the gloves, they took their seats back on the couch staring at the game. As Johnny grabbed the dice, he stared at the game as if it seemed to be mocking them waiting for them to roll.

"Weapons at the ready?" Johnny spoke.

"If it's smackable," Luke answered, readying the hammer. "I'm ready."

"Do it," Dan orders, aiming the poker.

Johnny rolled the dice, but sighs when he sees the dice roll a two. As the token made its move, a riddle formed within the crystal ball once again.

"They grow much faster than bamboo," Johnny read. "Take care, or they'll come after you."

"That's not very hard to riddle out," Heather retorted.

Suddenly, they heard a noise and slowly turned as a power socket shook on the wall. It suddenly shifted loosely as a long green vine emerged through the holes and cracks, growing larger while sprouting big leaves. As they looked around, they noticed more vines growing inside. They pushed through the floor, extending along the walls, and wrapped around the ceiling. Sure enough, they wrapped around the furniture as the four kids found themselves surrounded.

"Luke, please tell me you have an axe," Heather spoke.

"I'd be lying if I said I did," Luke responded. "But I wish I had one."

"Everyone stay together," Johnny ushered. "No telling what these things are capable of!"

As Dan looked around nervously, he felt something slither against his left leg. He slowly looked down as a vine winded it's way around from the ankle of his feet up along his knee.

"Guys…"

"OH SHIT!" Luke shouted.

Luke started smacking the vine with the blade portion of the hammer. After a few stiff hits, the vine severed off as Dan picked it off his leg casting it aside while the remaining half pulled back and sunk into the floor from whence it came.

"Ya know, I think I'm getting pretty jaded by this," Heather replied, slicing an approaching vine with her knife.

As Heather hacked all the vines that got in her way, a large purple flower bloomed from one of the growing vines right in front of her face. She merely glared with annoyance and flipped the bird towards the flower.

"Oh, come on, Heather," Dan responded. "It's just showing its affection."

Just then, the flower shot four sharp barbs at Heather, who quickly ducked as the barbs pierced the wall a short distance behind her. Dan's eyes widened when he saw where the barbs were shot.

"Or not!"

In response, Heather sliced off the flower with her knife. She looked down as the flower withered beneath her feet. She simply lifted a foot up and crushed it, as she turned toward the vines.

"Bitch flower."

Unbeknownst to Heather, another vine appeared and swiftly wrapped around Heather's foot as she crushed the flower. Before she could react, it tightened it's grip and dragged her across the floor causing the others to turn.

"I REGRET NOTHING!"

"Heather!" Johnny shouted.

"Hang on!" Luke added.

Desperate, Johnny leapt over to Heather and grabbed her by the arm. She looked up to see Johnny trying to pull her back.

"Don't worry, I got you!"

"Just hang tight, Heather," Dan shouted, grabbing the other arm.

Suddenly, from out of the nearby wall, an enormous yellow pod emerged taking the group back. It opened it's petals revealing insect-like mandibles while it's tongue-like vine pulled Heather towards its large thorn covered mouth. Having dropped the knife a few spaces away, Heather was caught between the carnivorous plant and two of three friends pulling her back.

"HOLY SHIT!" Johnny shouted.

"OH CRAP!" Dan added.

"Great, I'm about to get eaten by Audry II," Heather retorted. "Except I don't get a song before I die!"

"Not on my watch!" Luke shouted.

Luke rushed toward the pod, while the others held onto Heather. Using his hammer, he smacked the back end against it's mouth. But no matter how hard he struck, the pod stubbornly refused to let go.

"Let go of my friend, you vore-trap twat!

"Hold on, I got this!" Johnny shouted, letting go. "Dan, don't let her go!"

"Do I really have a choice?!" Dan asked sarcastically.

Johnny quickly made for the metal bat that he cast aside and ran toward the carnivorous pod.

"This is how you do it!"

Quickly, Johnny proceeded to whack the pod with the metal bat over and over as Luke backed away. After several beatings, the pod drooped to the floor and slowly crushed to the death as it's vine released Heather, causing her and Dan to fall back first toward the floor. After one final swing, Johnny loomed over the crushed, dead pod as slime oozed it's way from it's mouth.

"Luke," Johnny spoke, between breaths. "I think… You should hire… A maid at this point…"

"Yeah," Dan agreed, before looking down. "Heather, you should get off me before people start getting ideas."

"They'd have to be pretty 'stupid' ideas," Heather answered, letting go and standing up.

"And I thought… Plants vs. Zombies… Was hard…" Johnny continued, breathing heavily.

"When this is over, I'm completely scrapping vegetables off the menu," Heather declared.

"Good idea," Johnny nodded.

But as they noticed, the group did not have time to celebrate for long. As they looked around, more vines proceeded to grow from underneath the floor and through the ceiling. More purple flowers bloomed from the vines and before long the entire living room began to transform into a giant jungle, much to the chagrin of the already exhausted kids.

"Okay…" Luke spoke, taking it all in. "What do we do now?"


	6. Chapter 6

Locking the door behind them, the group cautiously made their way through the study, Johnny keeping the board game wrapped in his arms. When it appeared to be safe for the group, they settled in the center of the room, placing the game on a nearby table.

"Let's hope those plants don't know how to pick locks," Johnny said, sighing.

"Can I go home now?" Heather asked, laying her head on the table.

"No Heather," Luke spoke. "You heard what was on the board..."

"With how this game's been going," Heather interrupts. "This game could take weeks or more! But why not? I appreciate being cooped up in a house just to finish a game in one day."

"No one like sarcasm, Heather," Dan answered, dryly. "Your turn is coming soon; you might as well keep it going until it IS finished."

"How many spaces till then?"

"Let's see," Johnny observed, counting the spaces. "25 for me, 24 for Dan, 23 for Luke, and… 27 for you."

"Swell," Heather answered, frowning.

"Here I go again," Johnny declared, taking a deep breath.

Johnny shook the dice in the palm of his hands, the others watched anxiously. He rolled the dice, which skidded across the board, and by the time it landed on the numbers, Johnny's expression dropped to a dead-pan expression: With a 2 on one, and 1 on the other, he got '3'.

"… God, I suck."

"Could be worse," Heather pointed out. "You could be Dan."

"Says the girl who was almost eaten by vegetation not two minutes ago," Dan muttered.

"Says the girl who's turn could be your end."

"Stop fighting, you two," Luke butted in, annoyed. "Save it for what comes next."

Sure enough, Johnny's token slid along the three spaces on the board while a riddle began to form deep within the crystal ball.

"A hunter from the darkest wild," Johnny read. "Makes you feel just like a child."

The rest of the young adults sat silently as Johnny read the riddle, yet the description made a few of them slightly uneasy. Even Heather started to feel a chill though her tough demeanor prevented a revelation of the sort.

"Huh… This one's a bit tougher. What's that mean?"

BOOM! Suddenly, the group turned to the sound of a gunshot blowing a hole through the doorway while one of the plants exploded through before landing onto the floor. More gunshots fired against the door, one after another, making the group ducked for cover, shielding their heads as splinters and bullets flew over them.

Finally, all seemed silent as the group slowly raised their heads to face the door, which had several holes due to the gunshots. All at once, the door burst open as a figure stood lowering his foot following a brutal kick. The group stood silently as they studied the figure, noting that rather than an animal or a plant it was a human being. As he slowly marched into the study, the features of the rather tall man were visible. He was garbed in a British explorer's outfit which appeared to be a century old, his long blonde hair stuck out from underneath his spiked pith helmet, matching the long mustache which stretched across his upper lips, his black cape flowed as he strolled inside with a large rifle in his hand.

As the stranger got closer to the group, the plant that had landed violently in the study spasmed as if it were dying. But it soon met a quick end when the man crushed it beneath one of his black boots and not once stopping to acknowledge it. And then he paused by the couch overlooking the four wide-eyed kids who could do nothing but gaze at the man's stern expression. After a moment of silence, the man was the first to speak.

"Now then," The man spoke, in a thick British accent. "Which one of you did it?"

The kids didn't answer right away, as if they were at a loss of words to respond. The impatience of the man was greatly seen and he did not wait long for them to answer.

"Which one of you rolled the dice?"

"… Damn," Heather answered quietly.

"Does that answer your question?" Dan asked.

"Maybe he's friendly?"

"Friendly?!" Luke asked, harshly. "The man has a flipping gun and just blew the door down!"

"An eccentric way of saying hello, to me."

"I have no time for stalling," The hunter spat, losing his patience. "Whoever rolled the dice, speak up!"

The hunter's behavior left the group silent again, and it occurred to them that it made him that much unpredictable. Finally, Johnny slowly stood up as the hunter turned toward the young man who eyed him nervously.

"I did… Sir."

The hunter paused, eyeing the young man who just stood waiting to see what happens. The hunter slowly paced around the man cocking his rifle, sending empty bullet shells crashing onto the floor. With one hand grabbing spare shells from his belt strap wrapped from one shoulder blade to around the waist, the hunter inspected the young man from head-to-toe while loading his gun.

"You don't seem like the usual sport I go for," The hunter concluded, clicking his gun. "But, beggars can't be choosers."

"And you are?" Heather asked. "Hell, as long as we're making polite conversation and shit."

"My name is Van Pelt," The man answered bluntly, slowly aiming his gun to Johnny. "And you… Are about to become my next trophy. Start running."

"… What?!" Johnny spoke.

"Whoa, hang on, mate," Dan butted in. "That's first degree murder, that is!"

"Where you come from, it's murder," Van Pelt replies, stepping closer. "But where I'm from, it's all good sport."

The hunter stepped toward Johnny, drawing his gun threateningly as Johnny slowly stepped back, never taking his eyes off the man. But Luke suddenly jumped in, his hammer pointed towards the hunter's face.

"Don't even try it, arse-hole!"

"To quote yourself, Luke," Heather spoke, sarcastically. "'He has a gun!'"

"It IS a pretty old model, though," Dan pointed out.

"Tell that to the door."

The hunter paused, staring at Luke, who tried to steady his hammer, despite the fear. But his eyes appeared to see through the man in his way, rather towards Johnny, who was unsure of what to do. Suddenly, the hunter swiftly swiped at Luke with the butt of his gun, knocking him aside. He collapsed on the floor, the hammer barely slipping from his hand, while the other clenched his jaw where the gun hit him. The hunter simply stepped over Luke, as the others looked on in shock.

"I am in no mood for any tom foolery today," Van Pelt spoke, before returning to Johnny. "Now, to show you I'm fair, I'll give you a sporting chance with a five second head start. It makes the hunt all the more interesting… For me."

Johnny's eyes widened as if he were about to shit in his pants, all while Van Pelt reset the gun to aim toward the petrified young man. But whether he was ready or not, the hunter proceeded to count down.

"One… Two…"

No second after Van Pelt began counting, Johnny raced past him and burst toward the back door. And yet the hunter's expression was unfazed, not even acknowledging the young man's attempt to escape.

"Three… Four… FIVE!"

Finally, Van Pelt turned and fired his gun, barely missing Johnny as he leapt through the door. Van Pelt burst into a run and out the study, following his target. Luke picked himself up, reached for the hammer, followed the hunter out the study, and hurled the tool toward the back of Van Pelt's head. Unfortunately, the hunter simply stepped to his right, allowing the hammer to fly past him and hit the wall.

"Bollocks!" Luke cursed.

Van Pelt turned his head towards Luke, who started to regret his rescue attempt. The hunter fumed, that his hunt was interrupted so abruptly.

"That was unsportsmanlike, underhanded, and just plain bad form!"

Luke prepared himself, as it seemed the hunter was considering his options. Yet the hunter only stood there leaving the young man both scared yet confused at the same time.

"But you're lucky I can't kill 'you'," The hunter stated, walking out the back door. "It's 'the rules'."

After the hunter left, Luke just stood in his place as if the words the hunter said affected him in some way. The others did nothing except slowly get back up before turning toward Luke, who's eyes stared towards the open doorway.

"God, I hope that bought Johnny some time…"

* * *

Outside, Johnny ran around the house, as Van Pelt followed not far behind. He relentless fired shots with his gun, barely missing him every time. Where the bullets hit, bark exploded from the trees, holes burst along the house's walls, and a bird feeder exploded off it's chain crashing into the grass. Yet the hunter never strayed, cocking his gun and reloading mid-step.

"Run all you want, Sonny-Jim, but you won't escape!"

Through the front door, Johnny ran inside avoiding the purple flowers that fired their poisoned darts, which hit the walls while Johnny climbed up the stairs. Johnny turned briefly to see Van Pelt was on his tail, he too avoiding the darts yet fired a bullet at one plant causing it to explode and all the other flowers actually screeched as if they shared the pain before shrinking back.

By the time Van Pelt reached the top of the stairs, cocking his gun, he turned toward the slightly open bathroom door. He slowly approached the doorway, his gun raised at the ready. Then he kicked the door and aimed… Only to find the lion sitting in the bathtub, exposing his fangs with one yawn. Before Van Pelt could react, Johnny emerged from the broom closet, shoved Van Pelt into the bathroom and shut the door.

"Here's dessert!" Johnny shouted, before climbing down the stairs.

Silently cursing, Van Pelt slowly got back up on his knees recovering his gun which slipped only an inch. But before he got to his feet, a growl caused him to slowly look up and catch the lion emerging from the tub. The beast, disturbed from his rest, glared at the man, its claws stretched from his paws and crouched to pounce, while his fangs were bared. The hunter stared at the lion, not of fear but annoyance.

"Bugger!" The hunter spat silently, before the lion pounced him.

* * *

Back in the study, Luke shook the dice in his hands. Yet for both Dan and Heather, it felt like an eternity as for the past few minutes they just watched him shake the dice in his hands. But for Heather, there was no time for pity not after all the gunshots and a hunter running around the house.

"What the fuck are you waiting for?!" Heather asked, impatiently. "Roll, for Christ's sake!"

"I just need a nice big number," Luke spoke, mumbling to himself. "Just close to the bubble thingy, that's all I ask."

Suddenly, from upstairs, the gang heard the sounds of gunshots. A lion's roar bellowed followed by Van Pelt's screaming, as they heard a struggle from upstairs. The sound of crashing, tears, and snarls echoed while dust fell from the ceiling. Within a few moments, all was silent as all three kids looked up.

"Who's gonna check?" Luke asked first.

"Not it!" Heather quickly responded.

Before Dan could let loose as little as a curse, Johnny appeared from the open door frame to the study. They turned to face their friend, relieved to see his alive yet couldn't ignore his appearance. Breathing heavily, Johnny appeared exhausted as hell after narrowly avoiding a violent fate.

"Johnny, you okay?" Luke asked, concerned.

"Yeah…" Johnny answered, slowly nodding. "Just peachy."

"What happened to-" Heather began, then paused as her eyes widen. "Holy shit… Did you-?"

But Johnny just walked past Heather, not even acknowledging her question. Instead he just took a seat by the couch, looking down at the board game intensely while the others just looked on with concern. Then he turned towards Dan, who waited anxiously to hear what he had to say.

"I don't think you'll have to feed Bernard for a while."

"Ooh…" Dan winced. "Nasty!"

"Law of the jungle. Damn, that guy moves fast for someone his age."

"Well, um…" Luke began, awkwardly. "Guess it's my turn."

Johnny only nodded silently, never turning from the game. The others turned to Luke, who since picked up the dice and rolled for an '8'. Doing so made the token slide 8 spaces, as he proceeded to read the next riddle from the crystal ball.

"There is no bigger interruption, than the force of this eruption."

Luke turned towards Dan and Heather who didn't know what to think, as Johnny finally took his eyes off the board closing them shut and taking a deep breath. All at once, it felt warmer in the room so much that he started feeling uncomfortable, tugging his shirt collar, and feel sweat pour from his forehead.

"Is it getting hot in here?" Johnny asked.

"It's probably just me," Heather answered.

"No, seriously… It's really… Hot!"

Johnny suddenly lifted his feet up as if they were on fire. He looked down and saw the bottom of his sneakers marked on the floor which had turned red. The nearby electronic thermometer suddenly went past a hundred degrees toward accelerated levels before it suddenly exploded into sparks. All at once the room began to rumble as the gang looked around. And then they saw what appeared to be the room getting brighter, slowly turning toward the fireplace. The fire seemed to rise higher from the heat as a larger red spot was seen below it.

"Should we start running?" Dan asked, edging over the couch.

Just as anyone was about to answer, molten lava burst from underneath the firewood, slowly melting the wood down. It flowed from the fireplace as steam began to fill the room, as everything around them appeared to slowly break down from the intense heat.

"Yes, run!" Heather shouted. "DEFINITELY RUN!"

"Go, go!" Johnny shouted, leaping off the couch. "Hurry!"

The gang quickly got up from the couch making a mad dash out the room. Johnny grabbed the game board before following the others from close behind. More and more lava flowed from the fireplace, melting the floorboards in it's path. Soon the entire house heated up as steam emerged through the cracks of the floor. As they ran, Heather turned toward the pool watching the water boiling up from the intense heat. The dart frogs that got out of the water burned from the heat, as they slowly trudged on the ground and all their color melted like paint.

"Welp, froggies are dead!" Heather noted.

"This whole place is gonna blow!" Johnny declared. "Come on!"

Before they got far, Dan suddenly stopped and turned towards the stairs as if he realized something.

"Wait, Bernard!" Dan shouted, running toward the stairs.

"Are you kidding me?!" Heather shouted. "LEAVE THE DAMN LION!"

"Dan, come back!" Johnny called out. "It's not worth it!

"I'm not letting an innocent creature burn because of your dumb game!" Dan called back, climbing the stairs.

"He's bloody barmy," Luke remarked.

By the time Dan reached the top of the stairs, he swiftly opened the bathroom door to call for the lion. But he stopped at the sight before him: The lion leaning against Van Pelt, gnawing on his uniform when he finally spotted Dan at the open door.

"That's a lovely image," Dan spoke, sarcastically. "Come on, Bernard!"

The lion snarled in response before running out of the bedroom, leaving the seemingly dead hunter behind. It raced past Dan down the stairs, as the young man followed.

"I think I'm getting through to him."

Meanwhile, Johnny and the others raced to get to Dan when they stopped and ducked aside as Bernard leapt from the final steps onto the ground. For a moment, it took note of the three stunned adults a growl rumbling from it's throat.

"That lion's not going to eat us, is it?" Luke asked his friends, silently.

As if in response, the lion turned aside and leapt over the steaming floorboards to the front door. It proceed to claw the wood off the door, attempting to escape the intense heat. Luke, meanwhile, looked on with relief as Dan rejoined the others.

"I guess that answers my question."

"Guess he just wants to get out as much as we do!" Johnny declared.

"Then let's get the hell out already!" Heather shouted.

Luke ran toward the door, just as Bernard turned roaring towards him. Luke was taken aback at first, but slowly made his way toward the door, keeping a close watch on the beast, reaching his hand to the doorknob. He swung the door open, then the lion ran past him, knocking him to the ground.

The others raced out the door, with Luke close behind, the group making their way toward the road. The sound of collapsing wood caused the group to turn and watch as the entire house was set ablaze. Lava poured from the doors and windows like it was bleeding out, as the top of the volcano emerged from the roof, splitting it and the windows, breaking into pieces. Luke looked on, twitching his eye, and barely able to contain himself.

"My house… My house…"

"Damn," Heather spoke. "Your super's gonna be pissed."

They all looked silently as the house burned to the ground, leaving the volcano in its place. Johnny slowly turned toward Luke, who was at a loss for words, yet his eyes showed that he was upset.

"Luke, I didn't mean…"

"This is all your fault, Johnny!" Luke snapped, angrily. "You couldn't just leave well enough alone; you had to bring that bastard game!

"I didn't know all this shit would happen! How was I supposed to know?!

"The game pieces move by themselves," Luke pointed out. "It projects freaking RIDDLES on a ball! And thus far we've been attacked by animals, plants, hail, AND LAVA! What the hell did you think was gonna happen?! My house is gone because of you and your STUPID game!"

"I'm sorry, okay?!" Johnny snapped. "I'm sorry about your house and I'm sorry I ruined your pary. But we have to finish playing this game!"

"Oh screw you!" Luke shouted, turning away. "You can play, but I'm out!"

"Where do you expect to go?" Dan asked.

"Don't know, don't care! Screw this game! Screw the lion! This is the last time I do something nice for people!"

But Luke didn't go very far when Johnny suddenly grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks.

"Nobody's going anywhere till we finish the game!" Johnny spoke.

"Get your damn hands off me, you bastard!"

Luke pulled his arm away from Johnny's grasp and swiftly punches Johnny in the face. Dan and Heather gasped at the sight as Johnny rubbed his fingers against his nose, wiping away the small trace of blood pouring down. Angered, Johnny wrapped his arms around Luke in a headlock as the latter punched Johnny in the stomach. They end up rolling on the gravel road, growling and beating each other until Heather approached.

She grabbed both men by the hair, the two crying in pain as she held them for a few seconds and then… BAM! Heather literally butted their heads together, settling the fight.

"YOU TWO SHUT THE HELL UP AND SIT THE FUCK DOWN!"

All at once, the argument between Johnny and Luke ceased as they straightened up in a sitting position yet not even glancing at the other. But still they listened as Heather paced between the two boys, more visibly annoyed than angered with the two.

"Look, I really, REALLY hate to say it, but we need to keep playing," Heather explained to Luke. "The rules said all this will disappear if and 'when' we win! And that could mean getting your house back. But I swear, you back out now and abandon us to deal with this shit ourselves, I will personally castrate you! And I don't give a fuck if it's Johnny's fault or not!"

"Oh come on…" Johnny groaned.

"And you!" Heather interrupted, turning to Johnny. "Next time you pick up a 'possibly' cursed object that doesn't belong to you, do the one thing you and EVERY protagonist I've seen in movies have trouble with: THINK FOR A GODDAMN SECOND! You got it?"

"… Yes, ma'am," Johnny answered, slouching.

"Well, Luke's house is currently occupied by the elements," Dan declared. "Anywhere we can go to finish?"

"We'll discuss that in the car," Johnny answered. "I'm driving."

"SHOTGUN!" Heather called out.

"Again with dibbing everything!" Dan groaned.

"And here I go to the front seat!"

They piled into Johnny's car, Heather taking the front seat while Johnny was at the wheel. As he turned the ignition, he looked to the back seat. He saw Dan waiting anxiously to go while Luke simply just looked out his window, glaring, not even bothering to acknowledge Johnny's backward glance nor anyone else. Johnny stared for a moment then let loose a sigh and he turned away with a look of guilt. In silence, they drove off to search for some place to finish the game.

But as the car disappeared in the distance, a hand emerged from the rubble that was Luke's house. Then something pushed it's way through: Van Pelt, mangled and torn apart, but surprisingly still alive. As he looked towards the car, the wounds on his skin began to fade and his clothes appeared to mend all by themselves. He then hoisted up his fallen gun and then his helmet, adjusting it on his head.

"Well played, boy," Van Pelt declared, with a look of determination. "Now the real hunt begins."


End file.
